Uranium, a nondescript element when found in nature, has an atomic nucleus so heavy that it is highly unstable, and if broken apart it unleashes the tremendous energy that holds atoms together. Here the author of Fermat's Last Theorem, The Riddle of the Compass, and The Mystery of the Aleph offers a gripping account of the competition among the world's top scientists to understand and harness that power, from Marie Curie, who first identified radioactivity, to Enrico Fermi, who engineered the first nuclear chain reaction and made the atomic bomb possible.

"Using a wealth of new source material, [Amir] Azcel covers the triumphs and mistakes that come from powerful, cutting-edge science, while sounding a cautionary alarm regarding ongoing global conflicts with terrorists and nations.... Aczel is at his most intriguing analyzing Truman's decision to drop the bomb on Hiroshima; further declassified U.S. documents reveal that the U.S. knew Japanese ambassadors were making peace offers in Moscow before the bombing, and that the destruction of Hiroshima was also meant to send a message to the Soviets."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)